Claim: A Facebook user has alleged that the Nigerian media mogul Taiwo Olayinka Afolabi has bought the “Banjul Port terminal” in The Gambia.
Verdict: This is false. DUBAWA’s checks have revealed that the Gambia Ports have not been sold to the Nigerian Taiwo Olayinka Afolabi, as alleged. Instead, a businessman-owned company has a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government of The Gambia to build and operate a dry port, SIFAX Group announced on Aug. 14, 2018. Also, the Gambia Ports Authority Public Relations Officer, Gibou M. Saidy, has refuted the claim, describing it as “false.”
A Facebook user claimed the Nigerian media owner Taiwo Olayinka Afolabi has bought “the Banjul Port Terminal.”
Writing on Facebook on May 7, 2024, the social media user said:
“According to Nigerian media, multimillionaire Barrister Taiwo Olayinka Afolabi recently bought ‘the Banjul Ports Terminal.’ Which terminal? The Gambia Ports Authority should clarify.”
Mr Afolabi is the Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SIFAX Group, a group of companies with investments in maritime, aviation, oil and gas, haulage and logistics, financial services, and hospitality.
The data on Facebook shows the post has received over 1,230 comments, 49 shares, and over 2,234 likes as of May 11, 2024.
DUBAWA also traced the claim to a post made by an X user (formerly Twitter) on May 1, 2024, when celebrating the achievement of the Nigerian businessman on his 62nd birthday.
Extolling the work of the media mogul, the X user claimedTaiwo “recently bought the Banjul Ports Terminal.” This post on X may be the source of the claim making the rounds on social media in The Gambia.
We decided to probe the allegation as part of our campaign against misinformation and disinformation in West Africa.
Verification
DUBAWA’s checks revealed that a company owned by the media mogul has a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government of The Gambia to build and operate a dry port, SIFAX Group announced on August 14, 2018.
The MoU was reportedly signed in Banjul by the Group Managing Director of SIFAX Group, John Jenkins, and the Managing Director of Gambia Ports Authority (GPA), Abdoulie Tambedou, in 2018.
Also, the Gambia Ports Authority Public Relations Officer, Gibou M. Saidy, refuted the claim with some strong words.
“It is one of the biggest fake news stories I have heard in the year. The Gambia has no intention of selling any part of our terminals to any Nigerian or billionaire in Nigeria because we don’t have a terminal system,” he told DUBAWA.
He noted that The Gambia has only two wharves– the old and the new. The government, he explained, is in discussion with some investors about a public-private partnership contract to bring progress at the ports.
“As far as I am concerned, and the management of the Gambia Ports Authority is concerned, nothing has been sold to anyone,” Mr Saidy stressed.
A Google keyword search conducted by DUBAWA also showed that no media organisation in The Gambia had published news reports about the purported sale of the country’s Port to the Nigerian.
Similarly, the SIFAX Group, owned by Mr Afolabi, has published its MoU with The Gambian government on its website but did not say anything about purchasing the ‘Banjul ports terminal.’
Conclusion
It is not true that Nigerian businessman, Taiwo Afolabi, has purchased Gambia Ports. The Public Relations Officer of the Gambia Ports Authority, Gibou M. Saidy, refuted the allegation.
The researcher produced this fact-check per the DUBAWA 2024 Kwame Karikari Fellowship, in partnership with Fact Check Center – The Gambia, to facilitate the spirit of “truth” in journalism and enhance media literacy.
By: Yankuba Taal
Researcher
